Bear wouldn’t sit. He paced like a tiger behind his chair at the head of the table. E.Z. sat with his head resting on his fists, his eyes following Bear back and forth.

I took my seat next to Dom. He shot me a hard look. When Bear got in a mood like this, there was nothing any of us could do but sit and wait. He’d explode or he wouldn’t. The only person who ever had luck handling him in this state was Mama Bear. She was gone, probably handling business the rest of us couldn’t get to today.

It was Shep who finally spoke first. As Bear’s son, he had the best chance of not getting his head torn off. Come to think of it, maybe that put him at even greater risk. My respect for him notched up just a little.

“Pops,” he said. Shep rarely called him that at the table. “You gotta clue us in. Have you heard from Rivas?”

Bear whirled around, his eyes flashing. “Fucking Rivas.” Whatever the hell he meant by that, he didn’t finish the thought. Instead, he gripped his chair and threw it against the wall. One of the legs cracked off and shattered.

“Jesus,” Dom said. “They didn’t even question me or any of us except for you and E.Z. Not even an overnight hold. This is bullshit. A show. Even one of the agents admitted as much to me. Is there something else going on?”

Bear stood at the head of the table. He planted his hands on the edge and dropped his head. His chair in shambles, he finally straightened and sat on the end of the table.

“You want mine?” E.Z. asked, pushing himself out.

“Sit the fuck down,” Bear said. “It’s all right. Yes. I did talk to Rivas. He said this was bullshit. There’s a hotshot new investigator with the bureau looking to make a name for himself. He’s from Ohio, for fuck’s sake. Guess he made some trouble for the Red Brigands up there. Some of it stuck. As of right now though, it’s all smoke, no fire down here.”

“Fucking great,” Zig said. “One step up, two steps back.”

“Not even,” Bear said. He stood up again and held his hands out, gesturing downward. “It ain’t nothing. Everyone can just calm down.”

A few of us made eye contact with each other. Nobody wanted to point out the obvious that Bear was the only one smashing furniture at the moment.

“Fine,” E.Z. said. “We all know the drill. For the next few weeks, we keep our shit locked down extra tight. I think maybe we get word to our friends in Abilene and Dallas that shipments are gonna be delayed for the next little while. They should be good to go until at least next year anyway. What does Janet say?”

Janet Monroe was the club’s main defense attorney. She was gruff, salty, and the only other woman I knew besides Mama that would stand up to Bear in one of his moods. She’d also gotten our membership out of more legal scrapes than I could count.

“Janet ain’t worried. She’s barely gonna charge me for this morning’s wake-up call.”

“Good,” I said. “Janet says don’t worry. Marco Rivas says don’t worry. So fine. Back to business. Is E.Z. in the rights on this?”

Bear let out a sigh that came out more like a growl. He hated delays. He hated anything but smooth dealings with our partners. A lot of them were looking for any excuse they could to do business with someone else. The Devil’s Hawks M.C. out of Laredo was their usual threat. As I looked around the table, I could see more than a few guys probably thinking the same damn thing.

“This new hotshot investigator,” Deacon spoke up. “He got a name? Seems like maybe we ought to do some homework on him. Make sure he’s an equal opportunity thorn in the side.”

Axle dropped his head and muttered something. “That’d be just what we fucking need,” he said. “And it’s exactly the kind of thing the Hawks have been dying to try. They get the feds stirring up our shit, they swoop in and start taking over our contracts.”

“Sheeit,” Bear said. “Yeah, it’s an obvious play. It’s also the kind of thing that could come back to bite them in the ass later. But Deacon’s right. We need to do some homework on this guy. Marco says his name is Sebastian Wright.”

Deacon gave Bear a slow nod. He had his marching orders. As for the rest of it, this was so fucking typical it barely deserved a meeting. Bear’s mood didn’t make sense. I know I wasn’t the only one who felt it. But Bear knocked his fist against the table and waved E.Z. off.

“We’re done here,” he said. “Until further notice, take E.Z.’s lead. Lay low. If anybody hears rumblings from our partners indicating a certain lack of confidence, you send ’em straight to me. If I need to schedule a sit-down in Dallas or Abilene, I will. Hopefully, it won’t come to that and this shit will blow over. Like it always does.”

There was a rumble of assent around the table. Chairs started scraping against the floor as everyone got up to leave. I was as antsy as anyone to get the hell out of here. I didn’t like how I’d left things with Ariel. I told her I’d give her space to think, but I started to rethink that. Maybe a quick ride over to Mulberry Street was the better play.

We filed out. Bear stood near the door, his hand on Deacon’s shoulder. He probably had a few more personal details on this Sebastian Wright for Deacon to go on. I got to the door and Bear went quiet. He put a finger up to stop me.

“Hang back a minute, Chase,” he said. “I need a word.”

Though I was itching to check in on Ariel, Bear’s tone and stare weren’t the kind to ignore. I cleared my throat and nodded. He slapped Deacon on the back, dismissing him. Deacon gave me a curious expression. Even he seemed to think Bear’s request odd.

I had a feeling I knew what he wanted. Ariel’s presence in the clubhouse this morning could cause trouble for her. The feds and locals had been known to try shaking up friends of the club. They liked to pump them for information, sometimes scare them a little to test their loyalty. So far, they’d failed at turning any one of our women against us. Though my back went up, dreading this conversation, I knew I could trust Ariel with my heart, if not my life.

Bear shut the door. He started pacing at the end of the table again. Not knowing what the fuck, I took my seat again and waited for him to get to it. When he didn’t, I decided to strike first.

“Look, Bear, about Ariel. I know it wasn’t ideal for her to get caught up in that shit this morning. But she’s tough. She’s not easily scared.”

Bear put a hand up. “I’m not worried about the girl. That’s Josie’s department. If she senses a problem, you can be sure as shit she’ll let us both know about it. That’s not what I need to talk to you about.”

I didn’t like this. Cold unease went up my back in a wave. A million scenarios went through my head about what it could be. Bear had just told the whole membership we had nothing to fear from this latest tussle with the ATF. Maybe we didn’t, but I did.

“There’s been a development,” he said. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you this all day.”

“All day? We’ve been in holding cells all day.” The minute I said it, I realized it wasn’t true. Bear hadn’t been with us. They’d taken him in separate. I assumed he’d spent the day under the harsh lights of an interrogation room. It wouldn’t be the first time and likely not the last.

“Listen, this shit with this Sebastian Wright fucker, it is what I said it is. Something to keep an eye on, but nothing to fear for now. Marco came through like he always does. But there’s something else.”

“Bear,” I said rising. “You wanna maybe just spit it out? What the fuck is going on?”

“Sit down, son,” he said, his voice firm and dark. I stayed on my feet. It got hard to breathe.

“Son,” he said again. He grabbed E.Z.’s chair and pulled it to the head of the table. Slowly, Bear sat. He gestured to the space in front of him, urging me to settle back down. I did.

Bear dropped his head, resting his forehead on his clenched fist. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him so unsettled. “You know how many times I wanted to put a bullet through your old man’s head?”

The question came out of nowhere. I reared back as if he’d slapped me. “The fuck, Bear?”

“He was a shitheel. But you know that. Fucking Birdman. You know how he got that name? He had a parrot. A big, ugly green-and-yellow parrot. He taught the thing to swear and thought he was a genius. He was never gonna wear this cut. Never. Everything you are, all the best parts of you, they came from Rochelle. I know you, Chase. I know what you think when you look in the mirror. You wonder if there’s any of him in there. I’ve told you a thousand times and today will be a thousand and one, but the answer is no. You’re not him. And I shoulda done more to stop all of it.”

“Bear.” I cleared my throat. “What is this? What the hell does Brian Cutter have to do with today?”

“He tried to patch in off your mama’s back and I could have stopped it.” He spoke through gritted teeth and Bear’s eyes reddened. Whatever was eating him was tearing him up inside.

“I would have never let him touch that woman. Hell, I tried to tell her. But I could have done more. I could have demanded it. I could have threatened to fire her from the club unless she stopped seeing him. I didn’t do any of it because I was a damn coward.”

“What did he have over you?” I asked. It was the only thing that made sense at that moment. “What did my father threaten you with?”

“No.” Bear shook his head. “No, son. It wasn’t that. Fuck. Things weren’t settled between Josie and me back then. We hit a rough patch because ... well ... that part’s our business. She thought things that weren’t true about me and your mama. Well, I guess some of it was true. But I kept my distance to keep the peace in my own backyard. I shouldn’t have. Rochelle needed somebody better than your daddy to look out for her.”

“Bear, I’ve heard all of this before. He got her hooked on pills and dope. He turned her out. Then that motherfucker died.”

“I cut him off,” Bear said. “When I found out what he was doing, I told Birdman he wasn’t welcome on any Dark Saints property. I told him I never wanted to see his fucking face again and that he’d be better off to just leave Port Az. I should have made sure he did. That was probably my biggest mistake. But by then, he’d already hooked Rochelle up with some players. Friends of the club. I didn’t know. I swear to you, I didn’t know the extent of it. I wasn’t looking to take the club in that direction and I’m still not. It’s not what we do.”

“Friends of the club?” I asked. Ice curled up my spine again.

“Shit was a lot more precarious back then, Chase. It’s different now. Today was just a hiccup. You know that. Twenty years ago, we weren’t as secure. I fought ... E.Z. and the boys from my generation, we carved this life out of fucking stone. Blood and stone.”

“Bear,” I said. I reached over and patted his arm. “Man, I know that. We all do. We know what we owe you and what you’ve suffered.”

Bear let out a bitter laugh. “Suffered. You’ve got no fucking clue. And you shouldn’t. It’s the way we wanted it. Fuck. I’m dancing around this. So I’m going to stop. Chase, there’s been a break in your mama’s case. We have a pretty good idea who killed her, son.”

The world spun. The overhead lights seemed to burn brighter and I squinted against them. Each breath I took felt like acid filling my lungs. Only Bear’s firm grip on my arm kept me tethered.

“How?” I said, but it didn’t sound like my voice.

Bear let out a sigh. “Your girl. She didn’t tell you?”

“What? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Bear dropped his head. “I got word from one of my contacts in the PAPD. Ariel brought some shit she found in the floorboards or something over at the Hutchins Street house. I gotta be honest, I figured you were in on that. There was a statue or something. It had blood on it. They scraped it for DNA and came up with a match. Rochelle’s blood and someone else’s were mixed. Nothing came up on the criminal databases they have. But Jenny ... she had ’em run it against all their databases. I guess a DOJ runs their people as part of a background check.”

I couldn’t hear it all. Bear’s words came to me as if they were underwater and I was upside down. He squeezed my arm again and I snapped my eyes open.

Friend of the club. DOJ. Background check. Pieces slammed into place. Bear had been so angry when somebody asked him about Rivas at Church.

“Say it,” I said.

Bear kept his vice grip on my arm. “Marco,” he said, dropping his voice to a dark whisper. “Marco Rivas was one of your mom’s regulars. I don’t fucking know what happened.”

I did. In an instant, I was eight years old again. Shouting. Swearing. The sound of breaking glass. She told him she was leaving. She had two bus tickets to Carson City. She had an aunt there who would let us stay with her until she could get back on her feet.

You’re not leaving until I’m done with you, Rochelle. You’re mine.

I blinked. She didn’t scream. She didn’t cry. In a heartbeat I knew why. If her little boy heard her, he’d come running to help her. She was trying to protect me. He didn’t know I was there.

I locked eyes with Bear. “You’re sure,” I said.

Bear closed his eyes and nodded. “It’s a match. Who the fuck leaves a murder weapon at the scene?”

It was such an odd question to ask. How could it possibly matter now? I let out another breath and another memory came.

There’d been a knock at the door. Penny Williams. She lived next door. She’d taken me to school that morning and I’d left my bookbag in her car. Penny must have startled him. He didn’t have time to plan. I remember the sliding door in my mother’s bedroom slam shut. He’d gone out on the deck and ran.

“Bear,” I said. “You made me a promise.”

Bear sighed. He rose from his chair. “I know what I promised.”

I started to breathe again. This was wrong. I looked around the room. “Where’s Axle?” I asked. “He should be here.” As club enforcer, settling club debts like this one would have fallen on his shoulders. Unless …

“Bear,” I said, slowly rising to my feet.

“Just calm down,” he said.

It had never happened before, but in that instant, I wanted nothing more than to punch Bear Bullock in the face. He saw it. His own expression hardened and he squared his shoulders.

“I’ve sworn my life to this club,” I said. “My soul. And you made me a promise that when the day came, you would help me deliver vengeance for my mother. If you couldn’t do right by Rochelle then, you owe it to her now.”

“I know what I owe,” Bear said, his anger rising. “It isn’t for you to tell me that. Don’t forget your place, son.”

“Don’t call me son. If you keep me from this, you’ve lost that right.”

Bear slammed his fist into the table. “And this shit isn’t as clear-cut as you think it is. Oh, Rivas will pay. That I promise. But as long as he remains useful and we have the cloud of this ATF bullshit hanging over our heads, we still need him. I could have kept this from you. That sure as hell would have been easier. But I did make you a promise. I couldn’t hold this and not let you in.”

The rage bubbled over. I didn’t think. I just acted. Before I knew what was happening, my fist made contact with Bear’s jaw and he staggered back. When he rose, blood poured from his lip where I’d split it. He raised one finger, quaking.

“One,” he said. “For Rochelle, you get one. You ever raise your hand to me again, I’ll put you in the fucking ground.”

“Then you better bring two shovels.” She’d been so quiet, neither of us had heard the door open. Mama Bear stood against the wall, her eyes shooting fire. She took a slow step toward us, her gaze locked on Bear.

“Josie,” he said. “Go back outside.”

She shook her head. “No. Not this time.” Her eyes flicked to me. Hers filled with pain. When she reached for me, I jerked away.

“If Marco Rivas still draws breath by tomorrow night,” she said, her voice shaking, “I will kill him myself.”

With that, she turned, left the room, and slammed the door behind her.